Assembly body manufacturing device and assembly body manufacturing  method

ABSTRACT

In order to hold a long member without using a fixing jig and without deforming the long member in holding the long member, a long member assembling device is provided with: multiple hand parts for gripping a long member; and arm parts and trunk parts for moving the hand parts to adjust the positions of the hand parts gripping the long member. The hand parts have a configuration such that, when the positions thereof are adjusted by the arm parts and the trunk parts, the hand parts are capable of moving in the longitudinal direction of the long member while gripping the long member.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an assembly body manufacturing deviceand an assembly body manufacturing method.

BACKGROUND ART

In a typical manufacturing method, when long member that has lowrigidity and readily bends is mounted with another component, the longmember is held by a fixing jig. Such a fixing jig has high rigidity andcan thus prevent the long member from bending when the other componentis mounted on the long member.

Patent Document 1, indicated below, discloses technology for preciselyassembling large products such as large aircraft fuselages.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,517

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problems

The long member is, for example, a stringer which is a structure of anaircraft, and has a length of approximately 5 m to 15 m. Such stringershave different shapes depending on the installation positions, andvarious types of stringers may be installed in one aircraft. Thus,various types of fixing jigs for holding the stringers need to beprepared in mounting other component, such as clips, on the stringers.

Furthermore, plate-shaped skins joined to the stringers often havedouble-curved surfaces. When the skins have double-curved surfaces, thestringers have stereoscopic shapes with compound curves. That is, thestringers are not linear members that can be installed along one plane,and the fixing jigs for holding the stringers also have complex shapes.

One idea is to grip the long member with a plurality of robots insteadof a fixing jig. Unfortunately, gripping the long member with hand partsof the robots in a fixed manner causes a problem of deformation of thelong member due to tensile force or compressive force applied by thehand parts of the robots.

Note that the aforementioned problems are not limited to the stringersused for aircrafts and typically occur in holding a long member that haslow rigidity and readily bends.

In the light of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is toprovide an assembly body manufacturing device and an assembly bodymanufacturing method capable of holding a long member without using afixing jig and without deforming the long member in holding the longmember.

Solution to Problems

In order to solve the above-described problems, an assembly bodymanufacturing device and an assembly body manufacturing method of thepresent invention provide the following means.

An assembly body manufacturing device according to one aspect of thepresent invention includes: a plurality of gripping parts configured togrip a long first member; and a drive part configured to move thegripping parts to adjust positions of the gripping parts gripping thefirst member. The gripping parts have a configuration such that thefirst member can move in a longitudinal direction with the grippingparts gripping the first member, upon adjustment of the positions by thedrive part.

With this configuration, the gripping parts have a configuration suchthat the long first member can move in the longitudinal direction withthe gripping parts gripping the first member. Thus, the first member isnot restrained from moving, extending, and contracting in thelongitudinal direction. As a result, if the positions of the grippingparts are adjusted, or if the gripping parts grip the first member ininappropriate positions, tensile force or compressive force is notlikely to be applied to the long first member gripped by the grippingparts, resulting in prevention of deformation of the first member.

In the one aspect of the present invention, the assembly bodymanufacturing device may further include a fixing part configured to fixa first end portion of the first member and to restrain movement of thefirst member in the longitudinal direction.

With this configuration, the fixing part fixes the first end portion ofthe first member and restrains movement of the first member in thelongitudinal direction, so that the first end portion of the firstmember can be set as a reference position for positioning.

An assembly body manufacturing device according to one aspect of thepresent invention includes: at least one gripping part configured togrip a long first member; a drive part configured to move the grippingpart to adjust a position of the gripping part gripping the firstmember; and a fixing part configured to fix a first end portion of thefirst member and restraining movement of the first member in alongitudinal direction. The gripping part has a configuration such thatthe first member can move in a longitudinal direction with the grippingpart gripping the first member, upon adjustment of the position by thedrive part.

With this configuration, the fixing part fixes the first end portion ofthe first member and restrains movement of the first member in thelongitudinal direction. The gripping part has a configuration such thatthe long first member can move in the longitudinal direction with thegripping part gripping the first member. Thus, the first member is notrestrained from moving, extending, and contracting in the longitudinaldirection. As a result, if the position of the gripping part isadjusted, or if the gripping part grips the first member in aninappropriate position, tensile force or compressive force is not likelyto be applied to the long first member gripped by the gripping part,resulting in prevention of deformation of the first member.

In the one aspect of the present invention, the assembly bodymanufacturing device may further include a control unit configured tocause the gripping part to release gripping of the first member and thencause the gripping part to grip the first gripping part again before thefirst member is mounted with a second member.

With this configuration, the gripping part releases the first member andthen grips the first member again before the first member is mountedwith the second member. Thus, the first member can be held in such astate that tensile force or compressive force applied to the firstmember is released.

In the one aspect of the present invention, the assembly bodymanufacturing device may further include a control unit configured tocause the gripping part to release gripping of the first member and thencause the gripping part to grip the first member again after the firstend portion of the first member is restrained on the fixing part.

With this configuration, the gripping part releases the first member andthen grips the first member again after the first end portion of thefirst member is restrained. Thus, the first member can be held in such astate that tensile force or compressive force applied to the firstmember is released.

In the one aspect of the present invention, the assembly bodymanufacturing device may further include a control unit configured tocause the gripping part located closer to the fixing part among thegripping parts to release gripping of the first member, then cause thegripping part located closer to the fixing part to grip the first memberagain, and thereafter cause the gripping part located remoter from thefixing part among the gripping parts to release the first member and togrip the first member again, after the first end portion of the firstmember is restrained on the fixing part.

With this configuration, the gripping part located closer to the fixingpart among the gripping parts releases the first member and grips thefirst member again first, and then the gripping part located remoterfrom the fixing part releases the first member and grips the firstmember again, after the first end portion of the first member isrestrained. Thus, it is ensured that tensile force or compressive forceapplied to the first member is released from the fixing part side, andthe gripping parts can grip the first member in correct positions.

In the one aspect of the present invention, the gripping part mayfurther include a sandwiching part configured to prevent the firstmember from falling off upon movement of the first member.

With this configuration, the sandwiching part prevents the first memberfrom falling off upon movement of the first member, so that movement ofthe first member is ensured.

An assembly body manufacturing method according to one aspect of thepresent invention includes the steps of: gripping a long first memberwith a plurality of gripping parts; moving the gripping parts with adrive part to adjust positions of the gripping parts gripping the firstmember; moving the first member with the gripping parts in alongitudinal direction with the gripping parts gripping the firstmember, upon adjustment of the positions by the drive part; and mountinga second member on the first member.

An assembly body manufacturing method according to one aspect of thepresent invention includes the steps of: gripping a long first memberwith at least one gripping part; moving the gripping part with a drivepart to adjust a position of the gripping part gripping the firstmember; fixing a first end portion of the first member on a fixing partand restraining movement of the first member in a longitudinaldirection; moving the first member with the gripping part in thelongitudinal direction with the gripping part gripping the first member,upon adjustment of the position by the drive part; and mounting a secondmember on the first member.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, the long member can be held withoutusing a fixing jig and without deforming the long member in holding thelong member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a long member assembling deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating a gripping robot of the long memberassembling device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit of the long memberassembling device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating a hand part of the gripping robot ofthe long member assembling device according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a front view illustrating a touch plate of the long memberassembling device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating operations of the long memberassembling device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating operations of the gripping robots ofthe long member assembling device according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A long member assembling device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention will be described below with reference to thedrawings.

A configuration of a long member assembling device 1 according to thepresent embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 1.

The long member assembling device 1 includes a conveyor 2, a table 3, aplurality of supporting robots (gripping robots) 4, touch plates 5,mounting robots 6, and a laser tracker 7. The long member assemblingdevice 1 is an assembly body manufacturing device that manufactures anassembly body, the long member assembling device 1 having aconfiguration in which another component 22, which is a second member,is mounted on a long member 10, which is a first member.

The long member assembling device 1 takes out the long member 10 from asupplying position 20 and conveys the long member 10 to a mountingposition 21. Then, the other component 22 is mounted on the long member10 in the mounting position 21. Before the component 22 is mounted, thelong member 10 is temporarily placed in the supplying position 20, andthe mounting robots 6 are placed in the vicinity of the mountingposition 21 fixed on the floor.

The long member 10 is, for example, a stringer which is a structuralmember of an aircraft. The stringer has a length of approximately 5 m to15 m and has a stereoscopic shape with a compound curve, for example.The other component 22 called clip, for example, is mounted on thestringer. Herein, the stringer which the clip is mounted on correspondsto the assembly body. The clip is a component used in forming a longframe to which a plurality of the stringers are connected. When theframe is assembled together with the stringers, the clips mounted inprecise positions in the longitudinal direction of the stringers enablethe frame to be formed with the stringers connected thereto while theframe does not bend.

A generally used conveyor can be used as the conveyor 2. The table 3,which will be described later, is placed on the conveyor 2. The conveyor2 moves the table 3 from a first end portion side to a second endportion side and from the second end portion side to the first endportion side. The first end portion side of the conveyor 2 is located inthe vicinity of the supplying position 20 for the long member 10, andthe conveyor 2 moves the table 3 from the vicinity of the supplyingposition 20 to the vicinity of the mounting robots 6.

When a plurality of the components 22 are mounted on the long member 10in the longitudinal direction, one of the components 22 is mounted in apredetermined region of the long member 10, and then the conveyor 2conveys the table 3 on which the supporting robots 4 gripping the longmember 10 are installed. This operation allows the long member 10 to beconveyed while the supporting robots 4 grip the long member 10 whilemaintaining a component shape of the long member 10 in a predeterminedheld shape, and allows a component 22 to be mounted in a nextpredetermined region. After the component 22 is mounted in thepredetermined region, the conveyor 2 conveys the table 3, and acomponent 22 is mounted in a further next predetermined region of thelong member 10. This operation is repeated to mount the components 22 onthe entirety of the long member 10 in the longitudinal direction. Asingle component 22 may be mounted in a predetermined region, or aplurality of the components 22 may be mounted in the longitudinaldirection across the predetermined region.

The supporting robots 4 and the touch plates 5 are installed in a row onthe table 3. This configuration enables the supporting robots 4 and thetouch plates 5 to integrally move on the conveyor 2. The supportingrobots 4 are placed in a row on the table 3. The touch plates 5 areplaced on both ends of the table 3, that is, both sides of thesupporting robots 4. The number of the supporting robots 4 placed on thetable 3 and the distance between the supporting robots 4 arepreliminarily determined depending on the long member 10 to beassembled. The number of the supporting robots 4 to be operated forgripping the long member 10 is determined on the basis of the length ofthe long member 10 to be actually gripped. The drawing illustrates astate in which four out of five supporting robots 4 are gripping thelong member 10.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the supporting robots 4 each include ahand part 8 that grips the long member 10, an arm part 9 provided withthe hand part 8 at the leading end thereof, and a trunk part 12supporting the arm part 9. The hand part 8 is exemplified as a grippingpart, and the arm part 9 and the trunk part 12 are exemplified as adrive part.

The hand part 8 includes a stopper 13 that grips the long member 10 toprevent the long member 10 from falling off, an A reference plane rollerpart 14 that positions the long member 10 at a given Y coordinate sothat the hand part 8 can move the long member 10 in an X direction whenthe stopper 13 does not grip the long member 10, and a B reference planeroller part 15 that positions the long member 10 at a given Zcoordinate. A detailed configuration of the hand part 8 will bedescribed below.

The arm part 9 and the trunk part 12 move the hand part 8 so that thehand part 8 can appropriately grip the long member 10. A generally usedconfiguration of robots can be applied to the arm part 9 and the trunkpart 12. The supporting robot 4 detects the position of the hand part 8and moves the hand part 8 on the basis of a reference position thesupporting robot 4 itself has.

The touch plates 5 each include a flat plate part 16, and a first endportion of the long member 10 comes into contact with a surface of theflat plate part 16.

The touch plate 5 restrains the first end portion of the long member 10.This configuration allows a position of the first end portion of thelong member 10 coming into contact with the touch plate 5 to be set as areference position for positioning the other component 22 when the othercomponent 22 is mounted. A detailed configuration of the touch plate 5will be described below.

The touch plate 5 is provided with reflectors 27 that receive laserbeams from the laser tracker 7. The laser tracker 7 detects positionalinformation on the reflectors 27 disposed on the touch plate 5 on thebasis of the laser beams radiated from the laser tracker 7 and reflectedby the reflectors 27. The positional information on the reflectors 27enables detection of the position and inclination of the touch plate 5and determination of a reference coordinate.

One touch plate 5 is placed on either end of the table 3, that is, oneach side of the plurality of supporting robots 4. Only one of the twotouch plates 5 is used to bring the long member 10 into contact with thetouch plate 5. The touch plate 5 is selected depending on the shape ofthe long member 10. FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a state in which thelong member 10 is in contact with the touch plate 5 located closer tothe laser tracker 7.

The mounting robots 6 each include a hand part 17 that mounts the othercomponent 22 on the long member 10, an arm part 18 provided with thehand part 17 at the leading end thereof, and a trunk part 19 supportingthe arm part 18.

The arm part 18 and the trunk part 19 move the hand part 17 so that thehand part 17 can mount the other component 22 on the long member 10. Agenerally used configuration of robots can be applied to the arm part 18and the trunk part 19. The mounting robot 6 detects the position of thehand part 17 and moves the hand part 17 on the basis of a referenceposition which the mounting robot 6 itself has and positionalinformation on reflectors 28 disposed on the hand part 17 of themounting robot 6.

The hand part 17 of the mounting robot 6 is provided with the reflectors28 that receive laser beams from the laser tracker 7. The laser tracker7 detects the positional information on the reflectors 28 disposed onthe hand part 17 on the basis of the laser beams radiated from the lasertracker 7 and reflected by the reflectors 28. The hand part 17 can becontrolled on the basis of the positional information on the reflectors28 detected by the laser tracker 7, and the precision of positionalcontrol of the hand part 17 of the mounting robot 6 can be enhanced.

At least three reflectors 28 are installed on the hand part 17, and theposition of each of the reflectors 28 is detected by the laser tracker7. This configuration enables correct calculation of the position andinclination of the hand part 17.

FIG. 1 illustrates a case in which two mounting robots 6 are used. Forexample, one of the mounting robots 6 grips and fixes both the longmember 10 and the component 22, and the other mounting robot 6perforates and rivets the long member 10 and the component 22.

The laser tracker 7 scans the reflectors 27, 28 with the laser beams todetect the positions of the reflectors 27, 28. The laser tracker 7 isinstalled in a position separate from the conveyor 2, the supportingrobots 4, and the mounting robots 6 in a fixed manner.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a control unit 30 that controls the longmember assembling device 1 includes, for example, a conveyor controlunit 31, a supporting robot control unit (gripping robot control unit)32, and a mounting robot control unit 33. The control unit 30 is, forexample, a computer executed with a program.

The conveyor control unit 31 adjusts the position of the conveyor 2 sothat the predetermined region of the long member 10 moves to themounting position 21. The conveyor control unit 31 actuates the conveyor2 to move the table 3 to a predetermined position on the basis of theregion of the long member 10 where the component 22 is mounted and themounting position 21.

The supporting robot control unit 32 detects the position of the handpart 8 and moves the hand part 8 on the basis of the reference positionthe supporting robot 4 itself has and the reference coordinatedetermined with the positional information, detected by the lasertracker 7, on the reflectors 27 disposed on the touch plate 5. Thesupporting robot control unit 32 brings an end portion of the supportingrobot 4 into contact with the touch plate 5. The supporting robotcontrol unit 32 also causes the hand parts 8 of the supporting robots 4to move corresponding to the original shape of the long member 10 storedin a memory 34.

The mounting robot control unit 33 detects the positions of the handparts 17 and causes the hand parts 17 to move on the basis of thereference positions the mounting robots 6 have, the reference coordinatedetermined with the positional information, detected by the lasertracker 7, on the reflectors 27 disposed on the touch plate 5, and thepositional information on the reflectors 28 disposed on the hand part17. The mounting robot control unit 33 operates the hand parts 17 tomount the other component 22 on the long member 10. Specifically, themounting robot control unit 33 causes the hand parts 17 to grip the longmember 10 and the component 22 and to perforate and rivet the longmember 10 and the component 22.

A configuration of the hand part 8 of the supporting robot 4 will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

The hand part 8 of the supporting robot 4 includes the stopper 13, the Areference plane roller part 14, and the B reference plane roller part15. Note that FIGS. 4 to 6 illustrate a case in which the cross-sectionof the long member 10 has a so-called Z shape; however, the presentinvention can also be applied to a long member 10 having a differentcross-sectional shape by changing the arrangement positions of thestoppers 13 and the gripping parts.

The stopper 13 sandwiches a flat plate portion of the long member 10from both sides. The stopper 13 is used in moving the long member 10from the supplying position 20 to the conveyor 2 and prevents the longmember 10 from falling off from the hand part 8 of the supporting robot4. The long member 10 comes into contact with the touch plate 5 with thelong member 10 being gripped using the stopper 13. At this time, onlythe stopper 13 of the supporting robot 4 located closest to the touchplate 5 is required to sandwich the long member 10. By bringing the longmember 10 into contact using the supporting robot 4 closest to the touchplate 5, the amount of displacement caused during the contact can bereduced.

After the long member 10 comes into contact with the touch plate 5, thestopper 13 releases gripping of the long member 10.

The stopper 13 is composed of, for example, a fixed component 13A and amovable component 13B. The movable component 13B moves closer to andaway from the fixed component 13A with an actuator (not illustrated).When the movable component 13B moves closer to the fixed component 13A,the flat plate portion of the long member 10 is sandwiched. In contrast,when the movable component 13B moves away from the fixed component 13A,sandwiching is released.

The A reference plane roller part 14 positions an A reference plane onthe long member 10. The A reference plane roller part 14 adjusts theposition of the Y coordinate of the gripped portion.

The A reference plane roller part 14 is composed of a fixed roller 14Aand a movable roller 14B. The movable roller 14B moves parallel to the Yaxis in the XY plane and moves closer to and away from the fixed roller14A with an actuator (not illustrated). When the movable roller 14Bmoves closer to the fixed roller 14A, the flat plate portion of the longmember 10 is sandwiched. In contrast, when the movable roller 14B movesaway from the fixed roller 14A, sandwiching is released.

The rotation axes of the fixed roller 14A and the movable roller 14Bextend perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the long member 10and parallel to the A reference plane. This configuration prevents the Areference plane roller part 14 from restraining movement of the longmember 10 in the longitudinal direction and allows the long member 10 tomove in the longitudinal direction when the fixed roller 14A and themovable roller 14B sandwich the long member 10.

A flat plate surface of the long member 10 coming into contact with theouter peripheral surface of the fixed roller 14A when the fixed roller14A and the movable roller 14B sandwich the long member 10 is the Areference plane. Thus, when the supporting robot 4 adjusting theposition of the outer peripheral surface of the fixed roller 14A cominginto contact with the A reference plane, the A reference plane ispositioned on the long member 10.

The B reference plane roller part 15 positions a B reference plane onthe long member 10. The B reference plane roller part 15 adjusts theposition of the Z coordinate of the gripped portion.

Similar to the A reference plane roller part 14, the B reference planeroller part 15 is composed of a fixed roller 15A and a movable roller15B. The movable roller 15B moves parallel to the Z axis in the XZ planewith an actuator (not illustrated). The rotation axes of the fixedroller 15A and the movable roller 15B extend perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of the long member 10 and parallel to the Breference plane.

A flat plate surface of the long member 10 coming into contact with theouter peripheral surface of the fixed roller 15A when the fixed roller15A and the movable roller 15B sandwich the long member 10 is the Breference plane. Thus, by adjusting the position of the outer peripheralsurface of the fixed roller 15A coming into contact with the B referenceplane using the supporting robot 4, the B reference plane is positionedon the long member 10.

A configuration of the touch plate 5 will now be described withreference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

When the end surface (YZ surface) of the first end portion of the longmember 10 completely comes into surface contact with a flat surface (YZsurface) of the flat plate part 16 of the touch plate 5 and isrestrained in the Y direction and the Z direction, the position of thefirst end portion of the long member 10 coming into contact with thetouch plate 5 and the extending direction of the long member 10 can beidentified.

The touch plate 5 is provided with the flat plate part 16, an Areference plane jig 24 and a B reference plane jig 25 disposed on theflat plate part 16, a floating unit 23, and the reflectors 27. Note thatFIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a case in which the cross-section of the longmember 10 has a so-called Z shape; however, the present invention canalso be applied to a long member 10 having a different cross-sectionalshape by changing the arrangement position of the A reference plane jig24 and the B reference plane jig 25. FIG. 8 illustrates a state in whichthe long member 10 comes into contact with the touch plate 5 disposed ona side different from that in FIG. 1.

The A reference plane jig 24 restrains the long member 10 such that theA reference plane on the long member 10 is in a reference position. TheA reference plane jig 24 restrains movement of the long member 10 in theY direction.

The A reference plane jig 24 is composed of, for example, a fixedcomponent 24A and a movable component 24B. The fixed component 24A isinstalled protruding on one surface side of the flat plate part 16. Themovable component 24B moves closer to and away from the fixed component24A with an actuator (not illustrated). When the movable component 24Bmoves closer to the fixed component 24A, the flat plate portion of thelong member 10 is sandwiched. By contrast, when the movable component24B moves away from the fixed component 24A, sandwiching is released.

The surface, of the fixed component 24A that comes into contact with thelong member 10 is perpendicular to the flat surface of the flat platepart 16. This configuration ensures that the end surface of the longmember 10 is pressed against the touch plate 5 and enables correctsetting of the extending direction of the long member 10 when the Areference plane jig 24 restrains movement of the long member 10 in the Ydirection.

The flat plate surface of the long member 10 that comes into contactwith the fixed component 24A when the fixed component 24A and themovable component 24B sandwich the long member 10 is the A referenceplane.

The B reference plane jig 25 restrains the long member 10 such that theB reference plane on the long member 10 is in a reference position. TheB reference plane jig 25 restrains movement of the long member 10 in theZ direction.

The B reference plane jig 25 is composed of, for example, a fixedcomponent 25A and a movable component 25B. The surface of the fixedcomponent 25A that comes into contact with the long member 10 isperpendicular to the flat surface of the flat plate part 16. Thisconfiguration ensures that the end surface of the long member 10 ispressed against the touch plate 5 and enables correct setting of theextending direction of the long member 10 when the B reference plane jig25 restrains movement of the long member 10 in the Z direction.

The flat plate surface of the long member 10 that comes into contactwith the fixed component 25A when the fixed component 25A and themovable component 25B sandwich the long member 10 is the B referenceplane.

The floating unit 23 is installed between a support 26 and the flatplate part 16. The floating unit 23 allows the flat plate part 16 tomove in the X direction and incline with respect to the X direction.This configuration enables the end surface of the long member 10 toappropriately come into surface contact with the surface of the flatplate part 16 of the touch plate 5.

The support 26 is installed in a fixed manner on the table 3.

At least three reflectors 27 are installed on the flat plate part 16,and the position of each of the reflectors 27 is detected by the lasertracker 7. This configuration enables correct calculation of theposition and inclination of the flat plate part 16.

Operations of the long member assembling device 1 according to thepresent embodiment will now be described with reference to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 9.

Before the other component 22 is mounted on the long member 10, the longmember 10 to be assembled is temporarily placed on a rack or the like inthe supplying position 20. The table 3 on which the supporting robots 4are placed moves on the conveyor 2 so that the supporting robots 4approach the long member 10 temporarily placed in the supplying position20 (step S1). At this time, the number of the supporting robots 4 forgripping the long member 10 and the touch plate 5 with which the longmember 10 comes into contact have been determined. Note that thepositions of the supporting robots 4 on the table 3 have been alreadyadjusted.

Next, the hand parts 8 of the supporting robots 4 grip the long member10 and move the long member 10 from the supplying position 20 to theconveyor 2 to take out the long member 10 from the supplying position 20(step S2). At this time, the hand parts 8 of the supporting robots 4preferably grip the long member 10 in such positions that the longmember 10 does not bend, that is, in such positions that tensile forceor compressive force is not applied to the long member 10.

Then, the supporting robots 4 adjust the position and held shape of thelong member 10 (step S3). At this time, the first end portion of thelong member 10 is restrained with respect to the touch plate 5. Thisoperation enables correct adjustment of the position and held shape ofthe long member 10 with reference to the first end portion of the longmember 10.

After the position and the like of the long member 10 are adjusted, theconveyor 2 conveys the table 3 with the supporting robots 4 gripping thelong member 10. This operation allows the supporting robots 4 on thetable 3 placed on the conveyor 2 to be conveyed and the long member 10to be moved to the mounting position 21 where the mounting robots 6 canmount the other component 22 on the long member 10 (step S4).

Then, the mounting robots 6 mount the other component 22 on the longmember 10 (step S5). Since the supporting robots 4 have adjusted theposition and held shape of the long member 10 correctly as describedabove, the mounting robots 6 can mount the other component 22 in adesired precise position. The supporting robots 4 may adjust theposition and held shape of the long member 10 again before the mountingrobots 6 mount the other component 22 on the long member 10.

After the supporting robots 4 adjust the position and the like of thelong member 10 and the long member 10 is conveyed and before themounting robots 6 mount the other component 22, it may be checkedwhether the long member 10 is held in a precise position or the originalshape. For example, it is checked whether the long member 10 is held inthe original shape by measuring the mounting position of the othercomponent 22 on the long member 10 and measuring the total length of thelong member 10.

A method of gripping the long member 10 by the supporting robots 4according to the present embodiment will now be described with referenceto the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10.

The supporting robots 4 grip the long member 10 in such positions thatthe amount of deformation (the amount of bend) of the long member 10 isminimized (step S11). The number of the supporting robots 4 for grippingthe long member 10 is determined on the basis of the total length andshape of the long member 10, the operating range of the supportingrobots 4, and the like. The gripping positions where the amount ofdeformation of the long member 10 is minimized are determined throughpreliminary analysis, for example. If the touch plate 5 is used torestrain an end portion of the long member 10, the restraint imposed bythe touch plate 5 is also considered as an analysis condition.

Concerning the gripping positions of the supporting robots 4, it isestimated that, for example, one of the supporting robots 4 grips an endportion of the long member 10 and the supporting robots 4 grip the longmember 10 at equal intervals. Precise gripping positions are calculatedthrough analysis and adjusted minutely. Note that the mounting positionof the other component 22 to be mounted on the long member 10 is alsoconsidered in the analysis, and thus the amount of deformation of thelong member 10 is not always minimized in the gripping positions.

After the long member 10 is taken out from the supplying position 20 tothe conveyor 2, the supporting robots 4 bring the end portion of thelong member 10 into contact with the touch plate 5. Then, the touchplate 5 restrains the end portion of the long member 10 by a methoddescribed later (step S12). This operation restrains the end portion ofthe long member 10 from moving in all of the X direction, Y direction,and Z direction.

If the touch plate 5 is not used, the hand parts 8 of the supportingrobots 4 produce errors, and it is difficult to completely preventmovement of the long member 10. Thus, it is difficult to completelyrestrain movement in all of the X, Y, and Z directions. Using the touchplate 5 can reduce errors and define the reference position.

After the touch plate 5 restrains the end portion of the long member 10,each of the supporting robots 4 adjusts the gripping position again. Atthis time, the adjustment starts from the supporting robot 4 locatedclosest to the touch plate 5, thereby minimizing errors in the positionand shape of the long member 10.

The hand parts 8 of the supporting robots 4 move to positions where theshape of the long member 10 gripped by the supporting robots 4 matchesthe original shape, on the basis of the original shape of the longmember 10 (step S13). The original shape is a shape of the long member10 stored in the memory. The memory stores, for example, designdimensions of the long member 10 as the original shape. Destinationpositions of the hand parts 8 are positions in a coordinate with itsreference (zero point) being the reference position, that is, theposition where the long member 10 is restrained on the touch plate 5.The coordinates of the destination positions of the hand parts 8 arecalculated on the basis of the original shape stored in the memory. Whenthe hand parts 8 move on the basis of the X, Y, Z coordinates calculatedas the destination positions, the long member 10 is held in such aposition that its shape matches the original shape.

Note that even if the hand parts 8 of the supporting robots 4 stopmovement with errors in positions, the hand parts 8 have such aconfiguration as not to restrain the long member 10 in the X direction,that is, in the longitudinal direction of the long member 10, asdescribed above. Thus, tensile force or compressive force is not appliedto the long member 10 in the longitudinal direction. Accordingly, thelong member 10 is not likely to deform.

A method of bringing the long member 10 into contact with the touchplate 5 by the hand parts 8 of the supporting robots 4 and restrainingthe end portion of the long member 10 will now be described.

The supporting robots 4 use the hand parts 8 to grip predeterminedpositions of the long member 10 located in the supplying position 20.These gripping positions may be less precise than those when the othercomponent 22 is mounted, and are based on positions detected by positiondetection units of the supporting robots 4 and the conveyor 2.

With the stoppers 13 gripping the long member 10, the supporting robots4 bring the long member 10 into contact with the touch plate 5. At thistime, the floating unit 23 completely brings the end surface (YZsurface) of the first end portion of the long member 10 into surfacecontact with the flat surface (YZ surface) of the touch plate 5.

Then, the A reference plane jig 24 and the B reference plane jig 25 ofthe touch plate 5 sandwich the long member 10 in the order of the Areference plane jig 24 and the B reference plane jig 25. This operationimposes such restraint that the A reference plane and the B referenceplane on the long member 10 are in the reference positions. Then, thestoppers 13 of the supporting robots 4 release gripping of the longmember 10. The long member 10 may be sandwiched in the order of the Breference plane jig 25 and the A reference plane jig 24, which is theinverse order of the above-described example.

A method of determining the reference coordinate of the long memberassembling device 1 according to the present embodiment will now bedescribed.

The reference coordinate is determined by, for example, detecting thereflectors 27 on the two touch plates 5 and using the positions of thedetected reflectors 27 as references. Specifically, one of thereflectors 27 on the touch plate 5 disposed on the first end portionside of the table 3 is detected, and two of the reflectors 27 on thetouch plate 5 disposed on the second end portion side of the table 3 aredetected. These detections allow to define the XY plane and to set thereference coordinates.

The reference point (origin) on the touch plate 5 is determined by, forexample, detecting the reflectors 27 on the touch plate 5 to be used forthe origin and using the positions of the detected reflectors 27 asreferences.

Specifically, the origin is determined by detecting the three reflectors27 on the touch plate 5 that is disposed on the first end portion sideof the long member 10 and with which the first end portion of the longmember 10 comes into contact. Then, the position of the origin on thetouch plate 5 in the reference coordinate and the inclination of theflat plate part 16 of the touch plate 5 are calculated from the detectedthree points.

When the end surface (YZ surface) of the first end portion of the longmember 10 completely comes into surface contact with the flat surface(YZ surface) of the flat plate part 16 of the touch plate 5 and isrestrained in the Y direction and the Z direction, the position (origin)of the first end portion of the long member 10 coming into contact withthe touch plate 5 and the extending direction of the long member 10 canbe correctly identified because the position and inclination of thetouch plate 5 with respect to the YZ plane in the reference coordinateare calculated.

The hand parts 8 move to the calculated destination positions and thelike under positional control of the supporting robots 4 itself in theabove description; however, the present invention is not limited to thisexample. Reflectors may also be disposed permanently on the hand parts 8of the supporting robots 4, and the positions of the hand parts 8 may becontrolled on the basis of positional information detected by the lasertracker 7. This configuration can enhance precision in mounting thecomponent 22.

The reflectors are not necessarily to be disposed permanently on thehand parts 8, 17, and detection is not necessarily to be performed bythe laser tracker 7 at all times. An error inherent in the supportingrobots 4 or the mounting robots 6 may be detected preliminarily by thelaser tracker 7 and stored. The reflectors are detached in mounting, andthe supporting robots 4 or the mounting robots 6 mount in considerationof the stored error. This can enhance precision in mounting thecomponent 22.

The supporting robots 4 and the touch plates 5 are placed on theconveyor 2 in the above description; however, the present invention isnot limited to this example. A configuration is possible in which themounting robots 6 may be placed on the conveyor in a movable mannerrelative to the supporting robots 4 and the touch plates 5.

The supporting robots 4 are arranged at predetermined intervals on thetable 3 and integrated with the table 3 in the above-describedembodiment; however, the present invention is not limited to thisexample. For example, the supporting robots 4 may be installed in aself-propelled manner on the table 3 on the basis of the length andshape of the long member 10 to be gripped. In this case, positionalinformation on the supporting robots 4 with respect to a referenceposition on the table 3 is also used to position the hand parts 8 of thesupporting robots 4.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 Long member assembling device-   2 Conveyor-   3 Table-   4 Supporting robot (Gripping robot)-   5 Touch plate-   6 Mounting robot-   7 Laser tracker-   8, 17 Hand part-   9, 18 Arm part-   10 Long member-   12, 19 Trunk part-   13 Stopper-   13A Fixed component-   13B Movable component-   14 A reference plane roller part-   14A Fixed roller-   14B Movable roller-   15 B reference plane roller part-   15A Fixed roller-   15B Movable roller-   16 Flat plate part-   20 Supplying position-   21 Mounting position-   22 Component-   23 Floating unit-   24 A reference plane jig-   25 B reference plane jig-   26 Support-   27, 28 Reflector-   30 Control unit-   31 Conveyor control unit-   32 Supporting robot control unit (Gripping robot control unit)-   33 Mounting robot control unit

1. An assembly body manufacturing device comprising: a plurality ofgripping parts configured to grip a long first member; and a controlunit configured to move the gripping parts to adjust positions of thegripping parts gripping the first member on the basis of a shape of thefirst member stored in a memory, wherein the gripping parts areconfigured to allow the first member to move in a longitudinal directionwith the gripping parts gripping the first member, upon adjustment ofthe positions by the control unit.
 2. The assembly body manufacturingdevice according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing part configuredto fix a first end portion of the first member and restrain movement ofthe first member in a longitudinal direction.
 3. An assembly bodymanufacturing device comprising: at least one gripping part configuredto grip a long first member; a control unit configured to move thegripping part to adjust a position of the gripping part gripping thefirst member on the basis of a shape of the first member stored in amemory; and a fixing part configured to fix a first end portion of thefirst member and restraining movement of the first member in alongitudinal direction, wherein the gripping part is configured to allowthe first member to move in a longitudinal direction with the grippingpart gripping the first member, upon adjustment of the position by thecontrol unit.
 4. The assembly body manufacturing device according toclaim 1, wherein the control unit causes the gripping part to releasegripping of the first member and then causes the gripping part to gripthe first member again before the first member is mounted with a secondmember.
 5. The assembly body manufacturing device according to claim 2,wherein the control unit causes the gripping part to release gripping ofthe first member and then causes the gripping part to grip the firstmember again after the first end portion of the first member isrestrained on the fixing part.
 6. The assembly body manufacturing deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the control unit causes the gripping partlocated closer to the fixing part among the gripping parts to releasegripping of the first member, then causes the gripping part locatedcloser to the fixing part to grip the first member again, and thereaftercause the gripping part located remoter from the fixing part among thegripping parts to release the first member and to grip the first memberagain, after the first end portion of the first member is restrained onthe fixing part.
 7. The assembly body manufacturing device according toclaim 1, wherein the gripping part further comprises a sandwiching partconfigured to prevent the first member from falling off upon movement ofthe first member.
 8. An assembly body manufacturing method comprisingthe steps of: gripping a long first member with a plurality of grippingparts; moving the gripping parts with a control unit to adjust positionsof the gripping parts gripping the first member on the basis of a shapeof the first member stored in a memory; moving the first member with thegripping parts in a longitudinal direction with the gripping partsgripping the first member, upon adjustment of the positions by thecontrol unit; and mounting a second member on the first member.
 9. Anassembly body manufacturing method comprising the steps of: gripping along first member with at least one gripping part; moving the grippingpart with a control unit to adjust a position of the gripping partgripping the first member on the basis of a shape of the first memberstored in a memory; fixing a first end portion of the first member on afixing part and restraining movement of the first member in alongitudinal direction; moving the first member with the gripping partin the longitudinal direction with the gripping part gripping the firstmember, upon adjustment of the position by the control unit; andmounting a second member on the first member.